Steering drum



June 1955 J. H. WHITEHOUSE 3,188,

STEERING DRUM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 11, 19 63 INVIE'N'POR- JOHN H \NH! 1 EFDUSE ATTORNEYS 'Jlme 1965 J. H. WHITEHOUSE 3,188,38

STEERING DRUM Filed Feb. 11, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN H. WHITEHQUSE lax W ATTORNEYS FIG; 3

United States Patent a It 3,188,882 STEERENG DRUM John H. Whitehonse, Sutlield, Conn, assignor to North dz Judd Manufacturing (Ioznpany, New Britain, Come, a corporation of (Ionnecticut Filed Feb. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 257,631 @laisns. (Ci. '74 506} This invention relates to steering mechanisms using exible ropelik-e members or cables for translating the rotary motion of a driving element such as a steering wheel for remote control of a driven element such as a boat tiller, and is particularly concerned with a steering drum associated with the rotary driving element and upon which a portion of the flexible cable is wound.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide an improved and unique steering drum of the type described that can be readily and conveniently rigged with the flexible cable before or after rigging the other parts of the steering mechanism and which nevertheless accurately controls the cable without cable slippage.

It is another aim of the present invention to provlde a new and improved steering drum of the type described that can be rigged without threading the cable through an opening in the drum or of having an accessible free end of the cable.

It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved steering drum of the type described that can be economically manufactured and which Is engineered for durability and reliability and for convenient assembly on its driving shaft.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

PEG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken away and partly in section, of a portion of a boat steering mechanism showing an embodiment of the steering drum of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view, partly broken away, of one half of the steering drum with the steering cable rigged thereon;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

PM 4 is a view of the mating portions of the steering drum halves showing one drum half in bold lines and the other drum half in phantom l nes.

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to MG. 1, an embodiment of the steerirng drum of the present invention is shown mounted on a driving shaft lit extending forwardly and downwardly through a front console 16 of a boat from a steering wheel 12 having a central hub 14 fixed to the shaft. The shaft 1% is supported on the console 16 for rotational movement by a bearing housing v1S fixed to the console and having suitable bearing support for the shaft. This steering wheel and console assembly is typical of the type used in the motor boa-t industry and is shown and described for purposes of explanation only, it being understood that this assembly forms no part of the present invention. 7

The steering drum has two coaxial drum halves 2t), 22 placed in an end-to-end assembly having a central bore or opening 24- which is preferably slightly tapered outwardly from the inner ends of the drum halves to facilitate casting the drum halves with the bore 24 and which is adapted to receive the driving shaft it). A

All

3,188,882 Patented June 15, 1965 plastic sleeve 26 is mounted within a counter bore 27 in each drum half adjacent the outer axial ends of the bore 24. The inner diameters of the sleeve 26 and the bore 24 at the inner end of the drum halves are dimensioned to snugly receive the driving shaft 10 to prevent lateral play of the steering drum on the shaft. Preferably, the drum halves 2% 22 are manufactured by a cast-ing process and are identical in order that a single casting mold may be used and for providing interchangeability of the drum halves. Accordingly, a description of one drum half likewise applies to the other drum half.

The steering drum is keyed to the shaft it) by means of a pin 29 extending radially through a transverse opening in the shaft and received within complementary radially extending groovcs 28 (FIG. 3) which are cast adja cent the upper end of the upper drum half 2th in the recessed end face 39. A nut 32 threaded upon the end of the shaft 1% and bearing through a lock washer 34 against the end face 3% of the lower drum half maintains the drum halves in an end-toend assembly against the pin '29.

The drum halves Zll, 22 have a helical recess or groove 35, shown to be left-hand, extending between a circular flange 38 at the outer face and an axially projecting serni-circular flange it? at the inner face. The helical recess is adapted for receiving the steering cable 42 and thereby guide the cable for preventing snarling thereof. Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, the steering drum halves have inner cylindrical portions 4% with mutually en ageable end faces 46. The projecting semicircular inner flanges 4 are angularly offset for receipt within semi-circular recessed face portions 54 thereby providing an interlocking of the projecting flanges and forming a single annular central flange. Between the cylindrical portions 44 and the drum surface is defined an annular cavity or annulus, generally denoted by the numeral 5%, adapted for receiving the cable as shown in FIG. 2. Additionally, slots 52 are formed on the recessed faces 54 for communication with the annulus 5i and with the helical recess 36 adjacent its inner axial end. Rigging of the cable 42 about the cylinder 44 and Within the annulus 59 may therefore be accomplished without the necessity of having a free cable end by merely separating the drum halves. As best seen in FIG. 4, the slot 52 extends at an acute angle a from a radial toward the helical recess, and an axially extending car 56 on the semi-circular face as is located for overlapping a portion of the helical recess on the other drum half adjacent the slot 52 thereby maintaining the steering cable within the elical recess and providing sufficient bending of the cable to preclude cable slippage on the drum. The projecting faces 48 have inwardly extending lugs 58 located for covering the slot 52 of the other drum half for maintaining the cable within the slot after the drum halves are assembled.

It can be seen therefore that with the steering drum of the present invention, the steering cable may be readily rigged upon the drum without the necessity of having a free end of the cable and even after the cable has been otherwise rigged, as for example to a boat tiller. For convenience, the flexible cable '42 may be first rigged upon the upper drum half prior to the assembly of the lower drum half on the shaft 10. The cable may then be readily rigged upon the lower drum half 22 and that drum half assembled with the upper drum half and secured in the assembled relationship to the driving shaft 10 by the nut 32. Additionally, the steering drum of the present invention allows for rigging the cable without causing permanent distortion thereof, and yet adequately ensures against cable slippage. Further, by using functionally interchangeable drum halves, the drum halves may be 3 v k I cast with the same mold to provide substantial manufacturing economies.

As will be apparent to per-sons skilled in art, various 7 modifications and adaptationsof the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A steering drum and driving shaft assembly for c-ontrolling a steering cable, comprising a driving shaft, a pairof drums in adjacent end-to-end relationship having a drum surface adapted for receiving ,a steering cable,

said drums at their adjacent ends defining a cavity 'andi first and secondslot portions communicating with the cavity and the drum surface to enable the cable to be rigged upon the drum surface and through the first and second slot portions and cavity without the necessity of slot portions communicating with the cavity and drum surface to enable the cable to be rigged upon the drum surface and through the first and second slot portions and cavity without the necessity of having a free cable end,

and means for securing the drums in said end-to-end relat-ionship to the driving shaft.

-3. A steering drum and driving shaft assembly for controlling ,a steeringcable, comprising a driving shaft, a pair of drums in adjacent end-to-end relationship having an elongated axially extending bore receiving the driving shaft and a drum-surface adapted for receiving the steering cable, said drums having at their adjacent axial'ends an annular cavity between the shaft and the drum surface and first and second slot portions communicating with the cavity and the drum surface to enable the cable to be rigged upon the drum surface and through the slots and cavity without the necessity of having a free cable end, means keying a first of said drums to the driving shaft, means for maintaining the drums in said end-to-end relationship on the driving shaft, and means on said drums preventing relative angular movement therebetween.

4. A steering drum and driving shaft assembly for controlling a steering cable, comprising a driving shaft, a pair of drums in adjacent end-to-end relationship having an axially extending bore receiving the driving shaft and a drum' surface adapted for receiving the steering cable, said drums .at their adjacent axial ends having a cavity inwardly of the drum surfacesurrounding the driving shaft and interlocking semicircular axial projections maintaining the drums against relative angular movement, said drums further-having at their adjacent axial ends first and second slots communicating with the. drum surface and cavity to enable the cable :to be rigged upon the drum surface and through the slots and cavity without the necessity of having a free cable end, and means for fixedly mounting the drums in said end-to-end relationship onto the driving shaft. 1 Y a 1 '5. A steering drum and driving shaft assembly for controlling a steeping cable, comprising a driving shaft, a .pair of interchangeable'coaxial drums in abutting end-toend relationship having a bore receiving the driving shaft and a helical-1y recesseddrum surfiace adapted'for receiving the steering cable, said drums having at their abutting axial ends an annulus located between the shaft and drum surface, said drums additionally having semicircular recessed face portions at their abutting axial ends and a slot in each of saidrecessed face portions communicating with the helical recessvand annulus, said slots extending at an acute angle from a' radius toward the helical recess, said drums further having at their abutting axial ends semicircular axially projecting face portions received within the recess face portion of-the other drum and covering the-slot therein and providing an interlocking connecting between the drums, said drums each having an axially-extending earoverlapping a portion of the helical recess on the otherv drum adjacent the slot therein for maintaining the cable within the recess.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,177,425 8/ 16 Lund et a1. i1i14 16o 1,536,383 5 /25 French 254-450 BROUGHTON G. l DURHAM, Primary Examiner, MILTON KAUFMAN, Examiner, 

1. A STEERING DRUM AND DRIVING SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR CONTROLLING A STEERING CABLE, COMPRISING A DRIVING SHAFT, A PAIR OF DRUMS IN ADJACENT END-TO END RELATIONSHIP HAVING A DRUM SURFACE ADAPTED FOR RECEIVING A STEERING CABLE, SAID DRUMS AT THEIR ADJACENT ENDS DEFINING A CAVITY AND FIRST AND SECOND SLOT PORTIONS COMMUNICATING WITH THE CAVITY AND THE DRUM SURFACE TO ENABLE THE CABLE TO BE RIGGED UPON THE DRUM SURFACE AND THROUGH THE FIRST AND SECOND SLOT PORTION AND CAVITY WITHOUT THE NECISSITY OF HAVING A FREE CABLE END, AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE DRUMS TO THE DRIVING SHAFT IN SAID END-TO-END RELATIONSHIP AND WITH THE DRUMS COAXIAL WITH THE SHAFT. 